Western Telecasters, Inc. v. California Federation of Labor

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The plaintiffs Western Telecasting, Inc., doing business as KCST-39TV, John Wyatt and David R. Owen brought the instant action to recover damages for personal injury to the plaintiffs caused by acts done in furtherance of a conspiracy as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (3).

The complaint, in part, alleges:

The defendant International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) moved for summary judgment under rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Of the multiple grounds urged by defendant IBEW, the court need only consider the applicability of § 1985(3) to the instant cause of action. The section reads as follows:

In Griffin v. Breckenridge, 403 U.S. 88 , 91 S.Ct. 1790 , 29 L.Ed.2d 338 (1971), the Supreme Court held § 1985(3) applicable to a private conspiracy to deprive a black civil rights worker of the equal protection of the law, or of equal privileges and immunities under the law. The Court limited the scope of the statute, stating:

In spite of the above-quoted passage, the Court expressly refrained from deciding whether a conspiracy motivated by an‘invidiously discriminatory animus, other than racial bias, would…